Anonymous birth

legal concept allowing women to anonymously give birth and give the baby up for adoption

Anonymous birth is a legal concept in certain countries. This allows women to give birth to their baby at the hospital anonymously, that is to say without giving their name. After giving birth, the mother leaves the hospital. The baby is put up for adoption after a certain time.

Usually, anonymous birth also means that the child later has no way to find out about his/her parents. Anonymous delivery law is present in France, Luxemburg, Italy, and Austria.[1] In France, Vincent de Paul created towers, an early form of baby hatch, in 1638.[2] During the French Revolution anonymous births were legalized in 1793, when Article 326 of the Code Civil introduced both the concepts of anonymous and confidential births.[3] The decree provided for the creation of safe spaces for women to give birth safely.

References change

  1. Colcelli, Valentina (2013). "Anonymous Birth, Birth Registration and the Child's Right to Know Their Origins in the Italian Legal System: a Short Comment". Journal of Civil & Legal Sciences. 02 (01). doi:10.4172/2169-0170.1000101. ISSN 2169-0170.
  2. Marshall, Jill (2008). Personal Freedom through Human Rights Law?: Autonomy, Identity and Integrity under the European Convention on Human Rights. BRILL. p. 127. ISBN 978-90-474-1208-3.
  3. Lefaucheur, Nadine (1 December 2004). "The French 'Tradition'of Anonymous birth: the lines of argument". International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family. 18 (3): 319–342. doi:10.1093/lawfam/18.3.319.